New Year, New Vision

You know when you plonk on your Nan’s ‘jam-jar’ glasses on for a laugh?  The world seems a stranger place.  Everything seems not only blurred but out of proportion and your head gets that dull aching feeling.  When you don’t have perfect vision, the world takes on a shadowy edge.  The Bible says the same about our lives:  ” Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained…” (Proverbs 28:19 NAS).  Now we are not talking about going to Specsavers here, we are talking about a vision for your life, a dream for your future, your God-destiny, if you like.  Did you know that you are a VIP?  One of God’s special detached agents on a mission that only you can do? (Yes that’s right, you!!)  Even before you were a flirty-flicker in your mum’s eye, God had dreamed up things for you to do here on Earth.  The good news is that you can avoid that dull aching feeling you get when you can’t see where you are going.  As this New Year begins, it is your mission (should you choose to accept it) to check in with Kingdom HQ for your next briefing.  Here’s a report from a former God-agent:  “  Trust God from the bottom of your heart.  Don’t try to figure out everything on your own.  Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go.  He is the one that will keep you on track.  Don’t assume that you know it all.  Run to God and run from evil! (Proverbs 3:5-7 TM).

What secret mission has God planted in your heart?  If you’re not sure, then ask him: “Form your purpose by asking for counsel, then carry it out using all the help you can get (Proverbs 20:18 TM).  If you want to know why you are here on this sphere, ask Him.  God has all your answers.  God has all your purposes.  God has all your dreams.  Plus, here’s the win-win situation, not only will He give you wild dreams to chase, He’ll give you all you need to fulfil them.  Yes, there’ll be setbacks and hurdles, it won’t all be plain sailing.   But if you stick it out with God’s help you’ll change history.  Winston Churchill did it: when it looked like the war was lost, Britain’s leader looked over the mountain, beyond the now and into the future, rallying his nation with these words : “Never give up! Never give up! Never, never never give up!”  Now there was a man of vision, a man with purpose, certain of his impending victory despite the overwhelming odds.  What ever righteous cause God entrusts to you, never, never , never give up!

Look and Live!

When Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again,” this Jewish scholar didn’t get it.  So Jesus explains that in a birthing process, the infant allows the parent to do all the work.  ”There must be more,” thinks Nicodemus.  Using this visiting professor’s favorite book, the Torah, Jesus says “As Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life” (John 3:14-15 NLT).  Nicodemus got the point!

When God had heard all the complaining  He could put up with no more, “…sent fiery serpents… and many of the people of Israel died” (Numbers 21:6 NKJV).  The survivors pleaded with Moses to ask God for mercy. “The the Lord said to Moses,”Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and…everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he shall live.’”  (Numbers 21:8 NKJV).  The snake bitten Israelites found healing by looking at the pole; and sinners find salvation by looking to Christ.  Look and live!  The simplicity of it troubles us.  We expect a more complicated cure.  Moses and his followers might have expected more as well:: manufacture an ointment, treat one another, or at least fight back.  We say ” God helps those who help themselves”.  But Jesus says “only believe”.  You believe that the chair will hold your weight, so you sit on it.  You trust the work of the light switch so you flip it.  You regularly trust power you cannot see to do a work you cannot accomplish.  Today, Jesus asks you to do the same.

Be Encouraged.

Respect your temple

“…God bought you with a high price.  So…honour God with your body” 1 Corinthians 6:20 NLT

One of the things the Bible tells you to do is honour God with your body.  But what does that mean?  And what the heck has it got to do with temples?  OK, time for a quick history lesson the temple was a place where people went to meet with, and worship God.  It was a place of respect, and pretty ornate too; which is a posh way of saying it was nice to look at!

God made you to be like that, He calls your body ‘a temple’; how awesome is that?!  God wants to live in you, and He wants you to live out Him, so that when people look at your life, they see Him.  It says in the Bible that you’re made in the image of God, so that basically means there’s a bit of God in you.  If you think about it, treating your body like a temple kind of makes sense.  It’s basically about not abusing your body, but instead, using it to glorify God.  So how should that affect the way you treat yourself?

Well, have a think about what you’d do if Jesus came to stay, and you were in charge of His well being.  I’m guessing you’d make sure He ate well, got sleep, exercised, and kept generally fit and healthy, wouldn’t you? So…if you’re made in the image of God, why should you treat yourself any differently?  So, we have three things to consider; exercise, eating and sleep.  Here we go:

Firstly: an hour on the Wii or PS3 doesn’t count as exercise!!  It’s easy to get some exercise - especially whilst you’re young.  Join a netball or football team, or if you are not really sporty, go for a walk with your mate at lunchtime instead of staying in the dinnerhall!

Secondly: you need to eat well.  Yeah, we all have days when all we want is chocolate and crisps, but honestly you’ve got to get a balanced diet.  That doesn’t mean you balance a mars bar with a bag of quavers, but means you need to eat fruit and veg as well as protein ( meat, cheese and nuts) and carbs (bread, pasta and rice etc).  If you struggle with this, why not try a smoothie; it’s a great way to get loads of goodness in you, and pretty yummy too?

Thirdly:  staying up late isn’t the be-all and end-all.  We need sleep.  If you don’t get enough sleep, you won’t focus properly in school, college, work or uni, and you won’t achieve your best.  So try and get 8 hours most nights; it really is good for your health! Remember; you’re a temple!!

Be Encouraged.

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